Words: ROBIN MUMFORD
I’m not too sure what I expected from Jenson Tagg, but whatever expectations I did have, were blown overboard by the compelling start that his new song ‘Cure’ procured from the offset. He instantly joined an exclusive, completely imaginary, club that I made up consisting of pure vocalists that could sing to silence and still make a song out of it.
Mostly, this club would be filled with women ordering Zinfandel and Sauvignon Blanc to the table rather than blokes ordering their daily intake of house lager. Because it’s true, the females of our beloved industry are notably purer than the males. A significant fly in the ointment to this suggestion is Paolo Nutini, Bob Dylan (Albeit in his own certain peculiarity), and now Jenson Tagg.
The Crawley, West Sussex-based songwriter and performer has had his fair share of music experience for Olympic Athletes, a band he played a key role in, but now he is very much a separate identity. The snow-solo artist has released several albums and EP’s with poignancy being a cornerstone to his musical approach.
‘Cure' will be accompanied by an amazing music video in a week’s time, on November 25th. But, while we wait, our lips are whetted by the dulcet riffs and compulsive vocals that greet our ears like a warm hug from a loved one. Meaning wise, however, Jenson leaves that one to you, the listener.
“My lyrics are often open to interpretation and this one especially,” he said. “I’d heard a story of David Bowie’s writing process where he would often write little things down and cut it all up and throw it in the air and put it back together in a random order and see what he had.
“Apart from the chorus, I employed a similar technique for Cure. I wrote out certain phrases that were 3 syllables as I had the melody so I knew I needed some lines that were only 3 syllables. So I wrote down some random phrases such as “broken glass”, “lost in fire”, “chewed up lies” etc… and then put them all together and then did some tweaking to make it fit a bit better in the hope of having a nice little evocative jumble by the end “
Influenced by The Beatles and other classic songwriters such as Neil Young, Jenson’s songwriting talent always shines through alongside his feather-like vocals and delicious riffs, but particularly in this one we’re covering today. “Cure” is a song guaranteed to get some leverage in his career; it will be a fan favourite in no time.